


What Makes a Dark Side

by DragonSaphiraReads



Series: Fluffuary 2020 [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, after dwit, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22560874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSaphiraReads/pseuds/DragonSaphiraReads
Summary: Like listening to podfics? You can listen to this oneshot on my YT channel here https://youtu.be/x4dD2-LCrJc
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: Fluffuary 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619986
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	What Makes a Dark Side

**Author's Note:**

> Like listening to podfics? You can listen to this oneshot on my YT channel here https://youtu.be/x4dD2-LCrJc

They hadn’t seen Virgil in days. 

That in itself wasn’t necessarily unusual. The anxious side tended to seclude himself for longer periods of time when Thomas’s life was routine. Usually, he would come out for short bursts before hunkering back down in his room. 

But something had changed. After Thomas was introduced to the other half of his Creativity, there was a tension hanging in the Mindscape. At first, Logan had thought that it was coming from either Roman or Patton. They both seemed subdued the following day, but after that they bounced back and the air was still heavy, he realized they hadn’t seen Virgil since the incident. 

He double checked with the other two, and confirmed that they hadn’t seen him either. There hadn’t been any evidence that he’d just been out when they weren’t there - no cups sitting besides the sink, no dishes waiting to be washed, nothing. 

That was when he decided he needed to check on him, to make sure that he was doing alright. Perhaps Patton would be better suited for the task if Virgil needed comfort, but he still wasn’t fully recovered from everything that had happened in the recent weeks. 

So he found himself outside Virgil’s door, in the shadowy twilight between what was considered the dark side. and the “light side.” He raised his fist and rapped on the door sharply three times.

“Go away!” Came the sharp reply, tinged with a dark undertone. Logan wasn’t phased. 

“Virgil, I came to make sure that you are well. We haven’t seen you in the common room since the incident with Remus. Is everything--”

“I’m fine! Now go away!” Virgil hissed through the door, and it sounded to Logan that he was on the verge of a panic attack - possibly having one already. 

“Falsehood. You sound distinctly not fine. Virgil, I would like to help you, if you’ll allow me inside your room--”

“NO!” Virgil screamed, and something thudded against the door. Logan flinched back at the unexpected impact, then reached for the handle. 

“I’m coming inside in five seconds unless you can provide a suitable reason I shouldn’t.”

“You’ll get affected by my room!”

Logan shook his head. “When Thomas is not fully immersed in your space, your room’s effect on me is minimal.”

“You... You’ve got better stuff to do than waste time with me! Thomas has so much to do this week!”

“Calming you down from an attack will benefit Thomas, so it is a worthy use of my time. Five seconds have passed, I’m opening the door now.”

He turned the handle and pushed, but the door wouldn’t budge. He tried to push harder, but it soon became clear that there was something rather heavy blocking the door. 

“Logan, please, just go away! I’m fine, I know how to deal with this, I just need you to leave!” Virgil pleaded, sounding close to tears. 

The logical side lowered his voice, trying to imitate the soft, comforting tone Patton always used in these situations. “Virgil, I want to help you. But I cannot do that if you insist on shutting me out of your room. If you’re truly worried about me being affected, then we can move to the common room instead.”

There was silence from inside the room. Then Virgil mumbled something, so quiet that Logan couldn’t understand him. “What was that, Virgil? Your door is rather thick, I couldn’t hear you.”

“I _said_ I don’t want to hurt you! So you need to leave, ok?” Virgil’s voice cracked as he forced out the words, and Logan blinked. 

“How would you hurt me? I have yet to be harmed in any significant way by you.”

Virgil laughed, but it was just a puff of air escaping him, devoid of any actual humor. “It’s not just you. I can’t risk hurting any of you guys. Not after everything...”

Logan shook his head, taking a seat with his back pressed firmly against the door. This may take more time than he’d originally expected, but it was clear that Virgil needed help. “Virgil, could you please explain how you are harming us? Or rather, how you think you are?”

“W-What? Why?!”

“Because I believe you are suffering from cognitive distortions, and I wish to help you.” Logan answered. 

“What, are we gonna have a therapy session through my door?” 

“If that is what is necessary, then absolutely. Virgil, I want to assure you that you have not done anything to myself or to Roman or Patton that I would consider harmful.”

Virgil laughed that humorless laugh again. “You’re kidding me. I’ve insulted Princey since day one, I’ve called you and Pat names, I said you’re the least popular character... I’m Anxiety, I’m not exactly nice!”

Logan took a moment to think through his words carefully. “Perhaps I should have worded that more specifically. You have not done anything more harmful than any of the rest of us. I am also guilty of name calling and insulting my fellow sides. It is something to be worked on, certainly. But it is not a damning trait.”

“But that’s just the start! You guys nearly got stuck in my room because I was stupid and decided that Thomas didn’t need me at all--”

“You were working under incomplete premises. We had not done our due diligence in expressing to you your importance in Thomas’s life. It also was our choice to come after you. There were certainly other ways of fixing the problem, but we chose that one. Your actions may have been the catalyst for ours, but you are in no way responsible for our decisions.”

Virgil swallowed. “You just don’t get it!”

“I understand you’re feeling a number of very intense emotions, and that you are having difficulty getting to the root of the problem. That’s what I am here for.”

“... But why?”

The whisper was quiet, but Logan heard it this time. “Because you are important, Virgil. To Thomas, to us... to me.”

“But I’ve been _lying_ to you!”

“About being a dark side?” 

Logan heard Virgil hiss through his teeth, and he shook his head. “Please, Virgil, it’s nothing we didn’t already know. Thomas is the only one going through that particular revelation.”

“H-How?”

He sighed. “Before Thomas started this series with us, our only interactions were negative ones. You did not spend time with us and were quite antagonistic towards the three of us. Although the phrase did not come about until recently, we have always known that there was a divide between you and us. And the reasons behind that are complicated and I will have a talk with Roman about his use of that term eventually.”

“But... it’s true.”

Logan took a long pause, formulating his thoughts. “Virgil, there is no distinct difference between you and I. Or for that matter, any of the other “dark sides” and I.”

“What are you talking about? We’re dangerous, Logan!”

“You’re dangerous in the same way I am, in excess. Thomas cannot function if you’re operating at a higher capacity than the rest of us... but that goes for any one of us. Thomas would not be himself if any one of us stopped doing our jobs. And Virgil... what is your goal? What do you intend for Thomas? Do you intend to hurt him?”

Virgil didn’t respond for a long time. 

“I... I just want him to be safe.”

Logan smiled softly. “And that’s what you do for him. You keep him safe - that’s your purpose. You’re not perfect, but none of us are. We all struggle to push ourselves and push Thomas, but you know what would make that process go more smoothly?”

“What?”

“If we had our fourth team member join us?”

“... Even though I’m a dark side?”

“Perhaps because of it. If we must insist on dividing between “us” and “them”, then I insist that you be considered one of us.”

Virgil went silent. Then there was some shuffling, and Logan stood up from the door as it opened, and revealed a red-eyed Virgil staring at him.

“You’re serious?”

Logan grinned, pointing to his tie. “I’m always serious.”

That elicited a laugh from him. Then Virgil surged forward and threw his arms around Logan’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder. He was shaking, and Logan was content to simply stand there, one arm around his back and the other cradling his neck, letting him collect himself. 

“Thanks, Lo. I... needed this.”

Logan smiled, and on an impulse he pressed a featherlight kiss to the side of Virgil’s head. “We’re not complete without you, Virgil. I promise, I will never let you lose sight of that simple, undeniable fact.”


End file.
